MADRID: Novak Djokovic has become the third player in history to win the Madrid Open for a third time after defeating Greek rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4.
The world No.1, who last won a title at the Australian Open in January, outmaneuvered and tamed his 20-year-old opponent with the help of some clever defensive play. Tsitsipas entered the match in high confidence after stunning Rafael Nadal on Saturday. Recording his first-ever win over a top-two opponent. Nevertheless, it was the more solid Djokovic in control of proceedings at the Caja Magica as he hit 28 winners to 18 unforced errors, and won 78% of the points behind his first serve.
“I wasn’t playing my best tennis after Australia, so I was looking to regain the momentum this week.” Djokovic told ATP Radio after. “I started off well. I didn’t drop a set during the entire tournament. I’m very pleased, I played some of my best tennis here (in Madrid).”
The Sunday evening clash in the Spanish capital was an opportunity for Djokovic to get revenge. In his only previous meeting with Tsitsipas at the Rogers Cup last year, he suffered a three-set loss. It was at that tournament where the world No.9 defeated four top 10 players. Becoming the youngest person to ever do that since the creation of the ATP Tour in 1990.
A tentative start to the final from Tsitsipas enabled the top seed to ease to a 3-0 lead after he hit a forehand error when breakpoint down. The form of the Greek did rise further on in the opener as he illustrated glimmers of his true talent. Producing delicate drop shots alongside his powerful forehand. However, he was unable to break down the brick wall built by his rival. 41 minutes into the match, Djokovic locked the 6-3 lead with the help of a serve out wide that triggered another error from across the court.
Opportunities continued to come for the Serbian, but a resurgent Tsitsipas refused to let him run away with the title. Three games into the second set, a duo of break point opportunities came and went for Djokovic. Nevertheless, he prevailed during the business end. A backhand down the line, followed by a forehand winner secured him another break and this time the chance to serve for the title. A game away from victory, closing the match out was far from easy. Three championships points disappeared as the consequence of errors on the Djokovic forehand before he triumphed on the fourth time of asking.
“He defeated Rafa yesterday, I think they finished their match around midnight. He had a very late night. I could see that he wasn’t very dynamic as he was against Nadal.” Djokovic commented about his rival.
He’s had a terrific week. It’s a big win for me today and I’m looking forward to trying to continue the streak in Rome.
Djokovic’s win rewards him his first title on the clay since the 2016 French Open and his 14th overall. He has now won 33 Masters 1000 titles, which is the joint-highest of all-time alongside Nadal.
“These are the biggest tournaments we have on the ATP, alongside the Grand Slams. This is as important as it gets in terms of tournament size and organization.” He concluded.
Djokovic has now won 74 titles on the ATP Tour since 2006. The joint-sixth highest of all time along with Rod Laver.
